Fate
by MockingMellark
Summary: When the elevator breaks down, Eden is forced to take the stairs. Maybe it was just bad luck or fate, she manages to be at the wrong place at the wrong time but she runs into a man with a metal arm. BUCKY/OC
1. Meetings

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC and any other thing you don't recognize.**

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**One**

"Roses for the Mrs.?" Eden smiled. She loved these little gestures that some men did for their wives. She was florist, and owned her own shop called the Garden of Eden, so she saw this quite often. Whether it be late birthday presents, anniversaries, valentines day, or just because it was Wednesday, picking up a bouquet of roses on the way home from work made her warm inside.

After paying, she handed the man a bouquet of red roses. He thanked her quickly and jetted out the door. He must have forgotten her birthday, she chuckled to herself. Eden stifled a yawn, eyes glancing over to the clock. Technically, she still had a half hour before closing, but she didn't care. She flipped the open sign over to side that read closed, locked the cash register, set the alarm, and in two long strides she was throwing on her rain coat and walking out the door. Waiting for the crosswalk to turn green, she pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She had a missed call from her mom. She sighed; no doubt she was calling about the rent money she had lent her last month.

It pained Eden to think that her little piece of heaven wasn't doing too well. The commerce made barely enough to cover the rent of the place, and repairs were getting too expensive. She had to change her store hours and days so that she could work a part time job to keep her refrigerator stocked, gas in her car, and afford the rent of her own apartment.

The crosswalk light turned green, and Eden shuffled along. She made it to her car. It was an old silver Chevy Impala and had several scratches and dings. Wrenching the driver side door open, Eden pinched the bridge of her nose just as her cellphone glowed and vibrated in her hand.

Mom. Eden tossed the phone in the passenger seat, promising she would call her as soon as she got home. It had been a long day and the last thing she needed was a lecture. She could go for a nice warm bubble bath and foot rub. The impala roared to life after several attempts.

The Park-view apartment complex was built around the 1940s, and the entire building was in desperate need of an update. She wasn't allow to paint the wall to her liking; the same peeling eggshell-colored paint remained. She took to hanging up various artworks from the local thrift stores. The floorboards always squeaked when she walked and the appliances hadn't been updated since the apartment complex was renovated nearly seventy years ago.

Eden groaned as soon as she saw the 'out of order' sign that been posted on elevator. She would have to take the stairs. Again. Living on the fifth floor made stairs a pain. She took them two at a time. _The faster I get upstairs the faster I get to my apartment_, she chanted inside her head. Her breaths became short and shallow. She had to stop for a moment just to catch her breath. Asthma was something she struggled with all her life. She had a drawer stocked full of inhalers. She kept two in her purse and one in the drawer by the cash register at the shop just in case she had a flare up. Eden always tried to be prepared. She rested her arm against guard rail for support and dug around in her bag for an inhaler when she heard the heavy pattern of the footsteps behind her.

"Sorry" she muttered, flattening herself against the rail. Two men in suits brushed passed her as if she didn't even exist. They turned quickly at the entrance to the third floor. Eden, who was still making attempts to catch her breath, found herself intrigued by the two men. What were they doing in a dump like this? The suits looked too expensive, and he hadn't seen them before. Perhaps they were inspecting the building.

"Rogers, open up buddy. We just want to talk."

A moment of silence, and the man named Rogers didn't answer the door.

"It's nothing personal but..."

Suddenly there was a loud _bang_. Eden let out a raspy cry. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and her heart hammered in her chest. That was a gunshot! She prayed that Rogers wasn't in his apartment, else he would be in for a rude awakening.

Eden took a heavy breath and willed herself to move, forcing one foot in front of the other. She would not get caught up in this. She would not be a witness. Police would question her, and she couldn't help them in any way because she had barely gotten a look at the perpetrator's face. She cringed at the bad publicity the shop would get. _MOVE IT EDEN!_She found it hard to walk, her legs felt like jelly and she was falling before she knew it.

"Вы не должны быть здесь" _You shouldn't be here._His voice - for it was distinctly male - was slightly muffled from a stiff mask that covered his lower face.

Eden looked up from the corner she managed to crawl to. The first thing she noticed was the metal arm, but it didn't bother her as much as the blade in his hands. Even through his black goggles she could feel his cold calculating stare on her. It sent a shiver down her back.

He followed her gaze to knife, he brought the knife to his face as if he was inspecting it. He ran a bare finger as long the blade as it drew blood.

"делает это напугать вас?" _Does this scare you?_ His voice came out ragged and raspy. In two long strides, he was standing - no hovering over her. He pushed the black goggles up to reveal two cold blue eyes.

"Это должно" _It should_. His voice left no room for mercy.

Eden nodded warily as if she understood every word he was saying. He was going to kill her, but first he wanted to toy with her. He wanted to see the fear in her eyes. He brought the knife to her forehead. Eden whimpered as he dragged it along the side of her face. She swallowed hard as he brought the blade to her neck.

The knife tore through her flesh, and she fought the instinct to swipe the knife away, clenching her fingers. She let out a scream, she only ended up gargling on her own blood. He was standing now, carelessly wiping blood from his knife, his blue eyes never leaving her green ones.

"I will see you soon." he spoke in English before leaving her to bleed on the floor.

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**I used Google translate for the Russian dialogue.**

**I'm only human so Im going to have spelling and grammar errors and occasionally I may have typed a word twice so if you notice anything, please NICELY point it out.**

**09/1/12- Beta'd by Pheather McKelle**


	2. One month Later

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

**Thank you to all who review and/or Favorited my story  
**

**oh and please please please go my profile and check out the official banner I made for the story**

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**one month later**

A cool daft blew from the open window as Eden laid awake. It was a comfortable night - not too cold - but Eden still couldn't sleep. She had too much on her mind to be even close to that realm. She still endured nightmares about her attacker. Eden felt the hot tears beginning to form at the thought of the attack. She always thought about it, she couldn't stop thinking about it, and it was making her a borderline insomniac. Her fear ate at her every day, her anxiety gnawed at her the way a mouse gnaws at cheese. The dreams always started differently but always ended in the same manner: him staring intently at her as he dragged the knife across her neck. Absently Eden's timid fingers grazed the ugly jagged scar that she was forever stuck with; a constant reminder. She curled under her blanket, closing her eyes tightly.

Eden rubbed the crust from her eyes, groggily making her way to the tiny bathroom. She fumbled with the faucet knobs before turning on the water as hot as she could stand it. She wasted no time in the shower, and was already running late as it was. She glanced at herself once over in the mirror she had purposely placed by her front door. /I almost forgot,/ she thought to herself as she grabbed a black scarf, looping it around her neck so that the large scar was no longer visible, as thankful the weather was cooler.

It was Saturday, and Saturdays meant lunch with her parents and grocery shopping. It was the only day of the week that she didn't have to be at the shop or work at her part time job. Eden arrived at the Lancaster household within twenty minutes and checked herself once over in the rear view mirror; making sure that her dark shoulder-length hair was neatly pushed behind her ears and the ghastly scar wasn't visible beneath the scarf. Appearance was something her mother lived for: if one hair was out of place, her mother would spend an hour lecturing her about looking more like a lady, and Eden was as unladylike as they came.

"I wish you would move out of that apartment." Shoveling more steamed carrots into her mouth, Eden let out a grunt of acknowledgement.

"I love my apartment." Eden muttered. It was true, she did love her apartment. Sure, it was in need of a few updates, the elevator occasionally stopped working, and the roof had water stains from the tenants upstairs who accidentally let the bathtub overflow. But she was content with that since it was relatively cheap for what it was.

"Cheap isn't always safe." As if she were reading her daughter's thoughts, Mary Lancaster chimed in with a pointed look in her direction. Eden pushed the carrots around on her plate.

"Can we not have lunch without you bringing that up?" Eden kept her voice low but it was laced with bitterness. She hated having this conversation with her mother. It made her feel self conscious and guilty, as if the fact that she had been attacked was entirely her fault. Eden shoved the rest of the carrots into her mouth and rose from the dining table.

"I'll see you next Saturday, tell dad I love him." Eden left even before her mother could form any more than a shocked and exasperated look.

Fuming, she stomped to her car, mumbling swears under her breath. Sometimes she really hated her mother. They never had the best relationship. They were both too strong-willed and opinionated. Eden tried her best to impress her mother, but her best was never good enough. Eva was the favorite.

Eva was Eden's younger sister. She had long blonde hair that was always perfectly styled, wore designer suits, and married a man that was heir to a six billion dollar fortune. Eva was always perfect. Eden had two nieces that she had only ever met once since they had been born six years ago. Eva made sure that her sister didn't interfere with her pristine lifestyle. Eden just pretended that she didn't have a sister for the most part.

Feeling the anger rising, Eden stopped thinking about her sister and remembered that she needed to go grocery shopping. The pantry was nearly empty except for a can of beef broth and stale Ritz Crackers.

Celery, check.

Bread, check.

Eggs, check.

Milk, check.

Flour, check.

Tossing the sack of flour into the metal shopping cart, Eden mentally crossed off the shopping list she had memorized. Roughly an hour later she had enough food to last for about two weeks if she rationed it out properly, but - like most people - when she got bored she snacked, and it was probably the reason why her jeans felt tighter than usual. Eden scratched her stomach at the thought of getting her hands on Little Debbie snack cakes as she passed the sweets aisle and she almost found herself picking up a box and tossing it into her basket before she reminded herself that it was out of budget and the cosmic brownies would be gone before she made it home.

/You can splurge a bit. Think about the calories. When have I ever thought about calories? You've worked hard all week! You deserve it./ Eden grinned stupidly to herself, it was like the battle between good and evil going on in her head. She had to remind herself that it was, after all, just cosmic brownies. The weight of the world did not rest on Eden, though if her stomach had anything to say about it, a good portion of it did. Eden quickly paid the cashier for her purchases.

Eden couldn't wait to to tear into the brownies. She had only just made it to the car her before she started ripping away at the thin cardboard. Discarding the clear packaging, she sunk her teeth into the rich chocolate.

_Taste like Heaven,_she thought, letting out a moan before shoving the rest of the chocolate brownie into her mouth. Sticky fingers reached around in her purse for the car keys while the other hand was already digging for another brownie. The grocery store was a five minute drive away, and by the time she rounded the corner to her apartment complex the entire box was gone.

Eden staggered in with both arms full of groceries and let out a string of curse words when she saw the out of order sign taped to the elevator doors.

"Lucky me." she snarled, giving the elevator door a kick. The last time she had taken the stairs, things hadn't ended nicely, ending with her in the hospital for five days and men in uniforms, who certainly weren't the MPDC, visited her daily asking very weird questions. Ward was what he insisted she call him. He was man of very few words.

As Eden climbed the stairs, her anxiety heightened as she reached the third floor and immediately her eyes flicked to the corner. The same corner she crawled to, the same corner he had nonchalantly twirled his knife in hand before he- Eden stopped thinking.

She was always so busy thinking about herself that she never thought about what became of this "Rogers" guy, and then her mind drifted to Sharon, the nurse who lived next door to Rogers. She had been so selfish lately, she hadn't given a hoot about Sharon these past few weeks. Since neither owned a washing machine or a dryer, they would often wind up together in the laundry room in the basement. Eden had unintentionally overheard a conversation of Sharon's, discussing Rogers and the current state of her employment in hushed tones as Sharon carried boxes of her belonging outside to a moving truck.

Eden felt the anxiety leave her body as she crossed the threshold of the fifth floor. She was safe, she was home, no asthma flare ups, no one had followed her or tried to kill her as she walked up the stairs. She did a small victory dance, but even alone in her apartment she felt self-conscious and stopped, dropping the groceries on the kitchen counter.

"Louie?" She called. A fat tabby cat lifted its head from the nearby couch, meowed, and made a beeline to the kitchen as if to say "you haven't fed me today." Eden poured a bit of food into Louie's small dish before scratching him behind the ears. After putting away the groceries, Eden nestled into the couch, and before she knew it she had closed her eyes.

_Crash!_

Eden bolted up from her slumber. It was dark outside, the only light streamed from the moon. She stared around bewildered and confused.

_Crash!_

She heard it again, making her jump.

There was someone in her apartment.

If she wasn't so scared, Eden could've laughed at the fact that she owned nothing of any real value. No precious family heirlooms, her sister had gotten those years ago, and no money except for the twenty dollars she had left in her purse. What if the burglar wanted her? Her eyes darted to umbrella she kept by the door.

With the large umbrella gripped tightly Eden carefully made her way to the source of the crash. A line of light illuminated the bottom of the bathroom door. She took a moment to collect herself, taking deep breaths through her nose and out her mouth while slowly reaching towards the doorknob.

Throwing the bathroom door open, Eden startled the perpetrator and swung the umbrella wildly about until it made contact. She hit him repeatedly over the head, and made an attempt to attack his legs in case he decided to charge at her. She relished in the cries of pain she heard, and it only egged her on more to hit the guy harder.

_Thwack!_

Stop!" He growled. _Thwack_

"I don't want to hurt you!" He grabbed the umbrella in an impressively strong grip and pulled it out of her grasp. Eden's arms were twisted behind her back and her face was pressed against the bathroom wall. As he spoke, his breath was hot against her ear.

"I told you I would be seeing you again."

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** I'm sorry it's so short, I tried to make it 2,000 words per chapter but I came out short.**

**I'm only human so I am going to make grammar mistakes, if you noticed anything that I didn't catch can you politely point it out for me.**

**And I know most of you think I stole one someones OC because we just so happen to have an OC with the same name. I never knew the other story existed until the spiteful guest reviews I received and deleted. I chose the name Eden a long time ago and I am not changing the name of my OC because a couple of people have a problem with it. Our stories are nothing alike and our characters are nothing alike. **

**Read and Review please!**

**Editted by the fabulous Pheather Mckelle**


	3. Louie

**I don't own anything marvel related, however, I do own my OC**

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**Chapter**** three**

Bucky rubbed at the stubble on his chin. It became a habit when he was in deep thought. He was having a dream only moments before, and although he couldn't remember the beginning of his dream, he could distinctly recall the end, and he knew that it wasn't just any normal dream. It was a memory. He closed his eyes. It had to be real. It seemed so real. He thought about the blonde he had wrapped around his arms. If he tried hard enough he bet he could remember the smell of her perfume. He thought about the extravagant car show, and a man named Howard promising to make a car float. Lastly, he thought about the scrawny man that kept calling him Bucky. The man on the bridge had called him that.

"Steve" He said aloud, as if he was testing it out. Bucky immediately stopped trying to dig up memories. It was beginning to give him a massive headache. He seemed to get headaches often now, usually occurring whenever he tried to recall memories. Sometimes they came back to him in dream, other times he would be scavenging for food near the local bakery and one would hit him with the force of an avalanche.

Speaking of scavenging for food, he felt the lump in his pocket. Slipping his hand into his tattered coat, he wrapped his fingers around a small, stale hunk of bread. He had lucked out this time; yesterday's bread wasn't near so stale as the batches before. Bucky scraped the burnt part off with a knife sourly. He had somehow managed to make it last four days, but as he popped the last piece in his mouth, he thought how his entire existence now relied solely on pawing through trash.

He shifted uncomfortably on the cardboard box, careful to mind his injured arm.

And Captain Rog- No _Steve_ - wouldn't stop following him. He had bounced from homeless shelter to homeless shelter in an attempt to avoid him. He was always two step ahead of him, never staying in any place more than a night or two. He was constantly swapping clothes and hats with the other bums that frequented the shelters, keeping brim on whichever hat he happened to find low, and when finally went he went through all the homeless shelters in DC, he took to sleeping under bridges and in alleyways.

The sun was setting and the pain in his stomach was enough to make him double over. He was no stranger pain, but starvation was a newer sensation, though he recalled that deprivation of food was often used between tortures. It was a culture shock in and of itself being on his own. For once he had to rely on himself instead of others. Before the Helicarriers, HYDRA kept him under ice when he wasn't fulfilling a mission and when he was on a mission, he was always under their watchful eye. He depended on them so much that it angered him. They provided four meals a day, sleeping quarters, and tended to even the smallest of injuries. They did everything for their precious Winter Soldier, but he had jeopardized their relationship the moment he dragged grabbed Steve by the scruff of the neck and hauled him to shore. Everyone thought HYDRA had fallen, and he couldn't fathom how wrong they were. If anything, HYDRA was stronger than ever.

His stomach lurched; he needed food. He needed medical attention as well, but he couldn't simply walk into a hospital without raising suspicions and alerting HYDRA. That, and his metal arm would have been a dead giveaway. He set his sights on the apartment complex and thought of her. Bucky used be to a master assassin, he could get in and get out with no problem. He knew for a fact Steve no longer stayed at the apartments and all previous SHIELD agents had abandoned their post once their main headquarters fell. This was his last option.

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Eden finished tying the last knot around his ankle. She stood back, approving of her handy work. An assortment of bungee cords, duct tape, cable cords, and zip ties. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She was sure had gotten blood on her carpet but she didn't care because she single-handedly defeated her attacker. Louie purred from the corner, as if to say I helped too.

**fifteen minutes earlier**

Eden finished tying the last knot around his ankle. She stood back, glaring critically at her handiwork. An assortment of bungee cords, duct tape, cable cords, and zip ties. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She had scrubbed all the blood she could from the carpet, but a dark stain still sat in the corner.

"You could have just trusted me." he said gravely.

"I would rather trust a rabid dog." Eden snarled, more bravely than she felt.

"I told you I would be seeing you soon."

Her breath hitched in her throat. It was him. Shaggy-haired, unwashed, unkept /him/. Cold fear flooded her veins and her mind blanked. Her knees shook and her shoulders sagged. At last, he had come for her.

"D-don't kill me." Eden's voice cracking as she pleaded. "Please." The last part came out in barely a hoarse whisper.

The man loosened his grip before eventually letting go, Eden let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and then trailed to the metal contraption that was his arm. Somewhere in the back of her mind a little voice that sounded curiously like her mother wailed _Danger! Danger!_

"Stay back!" She spat as he took a step forward.

"I wont hurt you." He raised his hands above his head in the universal gesture of coming quietly. "I'm unarmed" Eden eyed his left arm, acutely aware of what he could kill with only a finger. It seemed to gleam sharply in the low light, as if illuminated from within.

"I don't know that." She said, far more confidently than she felt.

"No, you don't." he acquiesced.

**present**

He looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. His cheeks were gaunt and hollow, the skin was gray and dry, he smelled repulsive, and he hadn't shaved or cut his hair in some time. As Eden's eyes scanned his body, she noticed that his normal arm didn't appear as well-off as it should. It was bruised, swollen and bent at an odd angle. It looked painful. /No/, she thought. Now was not the time to feel sympathy for him. She would never feel sympathy for him.

The soldier eyed her handiwork and Eden swore she the corners of his mouth upturn.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" She demanded. "Come to finish me off?"

"Hungry." He mumbled. "And hurt." He jerked his chin in the direction of his right arm.

"Hungry, hurt and still extremely dangerous." Eden gestured to the metal arm. She folded her arms over her chest, openly scowling at the predicament she found herself in. She barely had enough food to feed herself, and the extent of her medical knowledge ranged from applying bandages to putting a stop to a nose bleed, so she was practically useless in that department.

"I can't help you." She shrugged half heartedly. "You did try to kill me once before."

"But you are alive right now aren't you?"

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**I rarely do time jumps, just covering up some holes and hopefully answering some questions, you guys might have had without getting too long.**

**Thank you to all those who reviews and added the story to their favorite, it makes me smile every time I get a notification **

**Chapter 4 will be posted shortly**

**beta'd by Pheather McKelle**


	4. Starfish

**Thanks to all who review, favorite and followed. It means alot and it makes me extremely happy**

**A/N at the end! please read!**

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If anyone had told Eden that she would be sitting across from the man that caused her so much pain and suffering, having awkward conversation and sipping hot tea at 4am she would have politely told them where to shove it. He broke out of her so-called restraints with such ease , and as Eden gawked at him, he nonchalantly familiarized with her kitchen.

In an relaxed tone, he mentioned she even thought about telephoning the police, he would break her skinny little neck before she could give the dispatcher her address. It wasn't a threat; it was promise, although Eden did think given his current health she could take him. She had nearly done so just hours ago, if he hadn't gotten the upper hand.

"I could try to set your arm; I saw a tutorial on youtube once" It was a stiff chance at joke, but the man, who thought his names was James, only furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion and asked what the hell was a youtube.

Eden played with the silver charm bracelet around her, specifically admiring the tiny starfish.

"What do you know about Steve Rogers?"

Several days after the helicarrier incident, he had taken a trip to the museum that boasted about their Captain America display. Altogether it had been a bad idea; he had only gotten to read few details at the James Barnes monument when someone had nonchalantly told him that without the scruffy stubble on his face, He and James Barnes looked exactly alike.

" Been living under a rock, have you? Not much, except that he has a hip to shoulder ratio of a dorito" Eden put her hands out, emphasizing the broadness of his shoulders.

James looked confused, and Eden quickly continued. "I think he woke up about two years ago, real patriotic guy met him once at the opening of the Captain America exhibit a few months back and then recently, he practically disappeared from the grid. I suspect it had something to do with those weird planes, the media did an excellent job of covering it up but I'm a sucker for conspiracy theories."

"Conspiracy Theories?"

"Yeah, You know when something unexplainable happens but we never really know actually happens because the government or someone else covers it up but some skeptical few propose a plan of what actually happened" She wasn't very good at explaining things, She only hoped was stalling long enough before they got here.

When she finally regained consciousness after James attack,ed her the first time, she was questioned, and was given a panic button. It was exceptionally disguised to look like a charm bracelet. One charm in particular, the shiny starfish had a small button on the back, if pressed it would immediately alert the authorities.

Eden got up from her chair, pretending to put more tea on the boil. The Kettle shook in her hand as she refilled her cup, she heard the familiar sound of a car door opening and closing, and she turned her head slightly to look out the window that overlooked the sidewalk. Although, it was still fairly dark outside , she made out the black luxury car .

"What are you staring at?" James called from the small dining table. Eden shook her head, she thought she was being discreet but he seemed to notice everything.

"Nothing" She answered, trying to shake the nerves "Do you want more Tea?"

James narrowed his eyes at her. He felt himself rising out of his chair. Eden swallowed " You should try it with a bit of honey/ it's how I take mine. It really gives it an extra pizazz"

James lived by one rule. It was simple. Never trust anyone. He could tell when someone wasn't being truthful, if he paid close enough attention to their body language. He looked at the way she stares at him unblinking, the way her shoulders rose and fell, and the teapot in her hand wouldn't stop shaking. She gestured for him to sit down before she refilled his cup. It was a seemingly kind gesture, but She was too close for both of their comfort.

"Who did you call?"

"No one, I didn't call anyone. Remember I can't seem to find my cellphone. I didn't...I didn't call anyone" The way she repeated herself, she stumbled over her words and she averted her eyes. The signs were all there. Bright, flaming red flags.

"Who did you call?" He demanded.

narrowly overfilling the tea cup, Eden mumbled lowly. "Shield"

James wanted to wrap him fingers around her throat, he wanted to watch the last bit of light fade from her eyes as he constricted her breathing. He should have killed her the first time. There was a knock on the door and he made a decision. He was not going back. He would never go back. He would rather die than become HYDRA's puppet again. He felt the familiar feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins and the door opened. Two Hydra Agents drew their weapons, and at that moment He was no longer James; the scruffy, weak, and wounded man. He was the Winter Soldier.

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I realized this story needs a hell of a lot of work, I'm planning to eventually rewrite the first four chapters; make them more detailed, interesting, longer and do some fine tuning to the plot . It will take time because I mostly dedicated all of my free time and energy to another Captain America TWS fan fiction that Im writing, its going to be published shortly and I hope you all will give it a read.

It will be called **Exit Wounds**

**However, even though I'm writing another fanfiction, I will not be abandoning Fate( I will still update from time to time just not as often**


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